Danish national individual receives suspended sentence for distributing nude film scenes on the social platform Reddit
A Denmark-based citizen has been convicted of sharing sexually explicit scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media platform Reddit.
According to a law enforcement report reviewed by media outlets, the unnamed individual shared 347 video excerpts of nude scenes in a Reddit group he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million times.
Danish authorities state he has been handed a 7-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.
Experts explain the man was charged under a rarely-used provision in Danish copyright law, with the court finding that by taking the footage out of their original context, the accused had harmed the artists' "ethical entitlements".
He has also been convicted of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.
From spring 2022 to mid-2023, the man known as "the pseudonym KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded sexually explicit clips including over 100 female performers.
He shared them in the subreddit he was a administrator of.
According to the Denmark's anti-piracy organization the Rights Alliance, his online community had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were encouraged to ask for excerpts of specific performers.
In last year, advocates filed the incident to the authorities on behalf of the affected actors, directors and production companies, which resulted in the forum being closed down.
Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the performers whose nude scenes were circulated in the group, told Danish media at the time she felt there was a difference between appearing unclothed in a movie and appearing on Reddit.
The performer said the posts constituted "abuse".
'A significant message'
The defendant was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the allegations last month.
In a statement after the ruling, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the decision sent an "important" message "indicating infringements of artists' rights have consequences".
The ruling is considered unprecedented in Denmark for its use of the "ethical protections" section of the Danish Copyright Act, which specifies an artist's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.
Intellectual property specialist Dr Alina Trapova informed the media the legal matter was "rare" for its focus on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.
How the ruling could influence nations abroad is uncertain.
But she added there may be "an increasing number of such cases" in the coming years with the advancement of AI, where "the integrity of one's work might be tempered with with greater ease".
